Mac Product Watch

Bug hunters, rejoice: The major players in the virus-detection game have released their monthly nasties lists. Symantec has updated its Norton AntiVirus 5 and 6 definitions, while McAfee has a new Mac DAT File for Virex. Both are free for download.

Macster 1.0PR5.5 is the latest preview release of Blackhole Media's Napster client. New to this let's-tick-off-Metallica application is a Hotlist function, an ID3 tag editor, contextual help, bug fixes and more.

Bruno Blondeau has released iOrganize 3.0, the latest version of his $15 address book, alias manager and note pad replacement. Version 3.0 gains new keyboard shortcuts; Font, Size and Style menus; multiple Undo and Redo; and increased note-field sizes.

System Support Products Inc.'s Mail Forward 1.2 fixes various bugs and accommodates the latest Hotmail changes in this latest version of the $12 utility for forwarding e-mail from Hotmail or POP accounts.

Gestel has shipped a Mac version of solidThinking 4.0, its NURBS-based 3D modeling and rendering tool. New in Version 4.0 are more and improved primitives, enhanced curve editing, new deformations and transformation, interactive surface editing, polygonal modeling and more. And all for only $2,495.

Apple has released the iMovie Plug-in pack for iMovie 2, the latest version of the company's consumer video-editing application. (Note: It won't work with iMovie 1.0 through 1.0.2.) The new pack adds various effects, transitions and titles. For developers, Apple has Mac OS USB DDK 1.4.6b2, the latest build of the developer kit for writing USB drivers.

Despite its modest decimal place, SoundJam MP Plus 2.5.1 folds a variety of new features into Casady & Greene Inc.'s MP3 player and encoder. New in this version is the ability to stream music over the Internet via a re-broadcaster such as FlyCast, ShoutCast and IceCast; a tuner for accessing said streams, improvement to the encoder and device controller for portable MP3 players; support for the Nomad Jukebox; improved playlists; and speed enhancements and bug fixes. It's $39.95 by electronic download or $49.95 for a hard-copy version.

Yves Piguet's GifBuilder was one of the seminal Web applications, making animated GIF creation easy. The new Version 1.0 gains a new interface as well as support for Apple's Navigation Services. Best of all, it's free.

Don't go in the water: Jaws Systems Ltd. has announced Jaws Digital Courier, a PDF-based client/server content-delivery system. It's best used, the company says, for moving digital document masters to a single printing node. Expected to ship in the fourth quarter, JDC's pricing has not yet been set.

Teng Chou Ming and Peter Hardman have released Extension Overload 5.3, the latest version of their comprehensive extension, control-panel and error-code information resource. This version is updated to keep pace with all the latest changes and better supports non-English distributions of the Mac OS. A single-user license is $20.

QBeo has released PhotoGenetics 2.0, the latest version of its $29.95 utility for improving the quality of digital images through the use of genetic algorithms. The new version offers a simplified interface and additional printing and saving options. Upgrades from previous versions are free.

Aladdin Systems' IntelliNews 3.0 adds a Movies section to the $20 headline- and news-retrieval application.

Apple has released FireWire 2.5 (United States only), a revision of the IEEE 1394 drivers. This version fixes various bugs and supports more devices on a single FireWire bus.

Intego, known for its network security products, has introduced VirusBarrier 1.0 antivirus software. VirusBarrier automatically checks every file or application when it is opened for viruses and also features an automatic-update feature to keep on top of the rapidly mutating world of worms, Trojan horses and other nasties. It's $69.95.

Splash Technology Inc. demonstrated its G620 color server, a Mac-based system that includes Splash's color-correction and calibration technology. (Seybold San Francisco 2000 announcement)

It must've been Steve Jobs' persuasive keynote speaking style: FileFlow Inc. has announced Mac support via a free plug-in for all of the company's secure file sending, receiving and storage products. FileFlow's products also provide file compression for reduced transmission times. (Seybold San Francisco 2000 announcement)

Studion announced its soon-to-be-released ColorBlade plug-in for Adobe Photoshop 5 and 6. It lets users preview and compare how color images with different ICC profiles will render, improving the accuracy of color choices. A Mac demo is currently available. (Seybold San Francisco 2000 announcement)

Worldweb.net released XT Connector, a QuarkXTension for extracting content for use with Worldweb's Expression I/O content-management system. No price was announced. (Seybold San Francisco 2000 announcement)

Blueline Studio's $15 TextBroom 3 is a search-and-replace and sort tool for text files. Version 3.0 adds an Undo/Redo function, ups the file-size limit to about 32KB, can search for hidden characters and more.

VSE has revised its Link Tester 3.0.1 link-testing utility (couldn't see that coming, eh?) to fix some conflicts with proxy servers.

Kodak Professional has introduced its RFS 3600 scanner for 35mm film. The $1,299 scanner, expected in September, features 3,600-dpi resolution, SCSI-II and USB connectivity, and batch-scanning capabilities.

Smaller, with more features at a lower cost? That's technology for you. Nikon has announced the Coolpix 880 digital camera. For $799, you get a more compact body, 3.34-megapixel resolution, 2.5x optical zoom and USB connectivity.

Corel Corp., which purchased some of the graphics applications orphaned by the demise of MetaCreations, has announced Bryce 4.1. This update to the terrain creation and animation application adds a new mapping mode; a custom starfield map; and import and export support for Microsoft's DirectX 3D API (PC only). With this revision, Corel hopes to capture the game-developer market.

QPS Inc. has released the new Que!Fire CD-RW external drive. The company says the drive performs with 12x recording, 10x rewriting and 32x read speeds and features Burn-Proof technology, which works to eliminate burn failures. The drive is currently shipping for $449.

Sealed Media has introduced a Mac client for its digital-rights management system. The Mac version of the browser plug-in will allow users to view media secured by Sealed Media's system.

Adobe Systems Inc. kicked off Seybold Seminars San Francisco 2000 by unveiling Photoshop 6.0, the latest version of its image-editing application. The upgrade is due to ship later this quarter for the Mac and Windows. It will support up to 8,000 layers (up from 99); let users enter text directly into images without a dialog box; and include enhanced color-management capabilities as well as new vector-based drawing features. Photoshop 6.0 will include Version 3.0 of ImageReady, Adobe's Web graphics package. The software will be available for a street price of about $600, and upgrades from earlier versions will be $200 each.

Adobe (adbe) also rolled out InScope, a Web-based publishing system for workflow and asset management. The software, which carried the code name Stilton, is designed as a complement to Adobe InDesign, the San Jose, Calif., company's page-layout application. InScope is due to ship in September for Mac and Windows systems. Pricing will depend on configuration, Adobe said.

If any Mac game fans are listening, Apple Computer Inc. (aapl) has released Game Sprockets 1.7.5, the latest version of its software library collection for game and Universal Serial Bus USB) input devices. This collection includes support for "nearly" all the HID-compliant USB hardware including wheel mice, and it offers higher quality 3D sound filtering. Apple also claims improvements for "graphics-intensive game applications." And what game nowadays isn't graphics-intensive?

Revenge of the nerds: Following the revelation of a possible security hole in its free encryption software, Massachusetts Institute of Technology has made available PGP Freeware 6.5.8, which closes off that little error. Due to export restrictions, this download is limited to U.S. citizens in the United States or Canadian citizens in Canada. McAfee has released the commercial version, PGP Desktop Security 6.5.2a, which adds more file sharing and other capabilities, for $71.95.

But they make good hardware: There's now a Mac version of drivers for Microsoft's IntelliType Keyboards. Confusingly, the IntelliType line includes the Microsoft Natural Keyboard Pro and Internet Keyboard Pro, one of which features a split design for enhanced ergonomics. Both also have two USB ports on the back of the keyboard and Hot Keys for common functions.

Olympus America's new Camedia E-10 is a 4-megapixel digital camera that retails for $1,999 and features a 4x zoom lens, a rotatable preview LCD panel, USB connectivity, NTSC support and both SmartMedia and CompactFlash capabilities. It is expected to ship in October. The company also announced the Camedia P-200 printer, a portable, self-contained printer that delivers photo-quality color prints. It'll also ship in October for $599.

The Squamish Media Group has released SoundSaVR 2.0.1, a $199 application for converting sound into single- and multinode QuickTime VR movies. Through QTVR's wired sprite capabilities, these sounds (from sources including MP3, RTSP, MIDI, voice or other) can pan, autoplay and more. Version 2.0.1 includes a full preview mode and various bug fixes.

SmartDisk Personal Storage Systems (which purchased VST) has released its VST 1394/USB PCI Upgrade card, which adds two FireWire and two USB ports to any PCI Power Mac running Mac OS 8.5.1 or higher. The online price is $149.95.

Max Power Software introduced Quick Text 1.0, a free text editor that includes color, font and style features. It also includes support for text-to-speech, Contextual Menus and more.

The Cinco Group has released its $99.55 Theme Creator 2 for, well, creating themes for FileMaker Pro 5 files. Version 2 gains a new interface; theme families; support for color, fill, pen and fonts; XML import and export; HTML preview and more. Owners of the previous version can get a free update.

MacCoder 3.0 is a complete rewrite of Pine Hill Products' source-code editor. Its latest features include a new interface, support for auto indenting and new information. It's $15 shareware.

Evergreen Technologies Inc. has expanded its product line with new FireLine FireWire hard drives. The latest models come in 30GB, 40GB, 60GB and a mind-goggling 75GB capacity. Prices range from $349.99 to $799.99.

Internet Pictures Corp., which would also like to be known as iPix, has released iPix Wizard 2.3, which adds image-resolution mapping, automated key retrieval and improved screen dialogs to the "virtual tour creation tool."

Bug hunters, rejoice: The major players in the virus-detection game have released their monthly nasties lists. Symantec has updated its Norton AntiVirus 5 and 6 definitions, while McAfee has a new Mac DAT File for Virex. Both are free for download.

Macster 1.0PR5.5 is the latest preview release of Blackhole Media's Napster client. New to this let's-tick-off-Metallica application is a Hotlist function, an ID3 tag editor, contextual help, bug fixes and more.

Bruno Blondeau has released iOrganize 3.0, the latest version of his $15 address book, alias manager and note pad replacement. Version 3.0 gains new keyboard shortcuts; Font, Size and Style menus; multiple Undo and Redo; and increased note-field sizes.

System Support Products Inc.'s Mail Forward 1.2 fixes various bugs and accommodates the latest Hotmail changes in this latest version of the $12 utility for forwarding e-mail from Hotmail or POP accounts.

Gestel has shipped a Mac version of solidThinking 4.0, its NURBS-based 3D modeling and rendering tool. New in Version 4.0 are more and improved primitives, enhanced curve editing, new deformations and transformation, interactive surface editing, polygonal modeling and more. And all for only $2,495.

Apple has released the iMovie Plug-in pack for iMovie 2, the latest version of the company's consumer video-editing application. (Note: It won't work with iMovie 1.0 through 1.0.2.) The new pack adds various effects, transitions and titles. For developers, Apple has Mac OS USB DDK 1.4.6b2, the latest build of the developer kit for writing USB drivers.

Despite its modest decimal place, SoundJam MP Plus 2.5.1 folds a variety of new features into Casady & Greene Inc.'s MP3 player and encoder. New in this version is the ability to stream music over the Internet via a re-broadcaster such as FlyCast, ShoutCast and IceCast; a tuner for accessing said streams, improvement to the encoder and device controller for portable MP3 players; support for the Nomad Jukebox; improved playlists; and speed enhancements and bug fixes. It's $39.95 by electronic download or $49.95 for a hard-copy version.

Yves Piguet's GifBuilder was one of the seminal Web applications, making animated GIF creation easy. The new Version 1.0 gains a new interface as well as support for Apple's Navigation Services. Best of all, it's free.

Don't go in the water: Jaws Systems Ltd. has announced Jaws Digital Courier, a PDF-based client/server content-delivery system. It's best used, the company says, for moving digital document masters to a single printing node. Expected to ship in the fourth quarter, JDC's pricing has not yet been set.

Teng Chou Ming and Peter Hardman have released Extension Overload 5.3, the latest version of their comprehensive extension, control-panel and error-code information resource. This version is updated to keep pace with all the latest changes and better supports non-English distributions of the Mac OS. A single-user license is $20.

QBeo has released PhotoGenetics 2.0, the latest version of its $29.95 utility for improving the quality of digital images through the use of genetic algorithms. The new version offers a simplified interface and additional printing and saving options. Upgrades from previous versions are free.

Aladdin Systems' IntelliNews 3.0 adds a Movies section to the $20 headline- and news-retrieval application.

Apple has released FireWire 2.5 (United States only), a revision of the IEEE 1394 drivers. This version fixes various bugs and supports more devices on a single FireWire bus.

Intego, known for its network security products, has introduced VirusBarrier 1.0 antivirus software. VirusBarrier automatically checks every file or application when it is opened for viruses and also features an automatic-update feature to keep on top of the rapidly mutating world of worms, Trojan horses and other nasties. It's $69.95.

Splash Technology Inc. demonstrated its G620 color server, a Mac-based system that includes Splash's color-correction and calibration technology. (Seybold San Francisco 2000 announcement)

It must've been Steve Jobs' persuasive keynote speaking style: FileFlow Inc. has announced Mac support via a free plug-in for all of the company's secure file sending, receiving and storage products. FileFlow's products also provide file compression for reduced transmission times. (Seybold San Francisco 2000 announcement)

Studion announced its soon-to-be-released ColorBlade plug-in for Adobe Photoshop 5 and 6. It lets users preview and compare how color images with different ICC profiles will render, improving the accuracy of color choices. A Mac demo is currently available. (Seybold San Francisco 2000 announcement)

Worldweb.net released XT Connector, a QuarkXTension for extracting content for use with Worldweb's Expression I/O content-management system. No price was announced. (Seybold San Francisco 2000 announcement)

Blueline Studio's $15 TextBroom 3 is a search-and-replace and sort tool for text files. Version 3.0 adds an Undo/Redo function, ups the file-size limit to about 32KB, can search for hidden characters and more.

VSE has revised its Link Tester 3.0.1 link-testing utility (couldn't see that coming, eh?) to fix some conflicts with proxy servers.

Kodak Professional has introduced its RFS 3600 scanner for 35mm film. The $1,299 scanner, expected in September, features 3,600-dpi resolution, SCSI-II and USB connectivity, and batch-scanning capabilities.

Smaller, with more features at a lower cost? That's technology for you. Nikon has announced the Coolpix 880 digital camera. For $799, you get a more compact body, 3.34-megapixel resolution, 2.5x optical zoom and USB connectivity.

Corel Corp., which purchased some of the graphics applications orphaned by the demise of MetaCreations, has announced Bryce 4.1. This update to the terrain creation and animation application adds a new mapping mode; a custom starfield map; and import and export support for Microsoft's DirectX 3D API (PC only). With this revision, Corel hopes to capture the game-developer market.

QPS Inc. has released the new Que!Fire CD-RW external drive. The company says the drive performs with 12x recording, 10x rewriting and 32x read speeds and features Burn-Proof technology, which works to eliminate burn failures. The drive is currently shipping for $449.

Sealed Media has introduced a Mac client for its digital-rights management system. The Mac version of the browser plug-in will allow users to view media secured by Sealed Media's system.

Adobe Systems Inc. kicked off Seybold Seminars San Francisco 2000 by unveiling Photoshop 6.0, the latest version of its image-editing application. The upgrade is due to ship later this quarter for the Mac and Windows. It will support up to 8,000 layers (up from 99); let users enter text directly into images without a dialog box; and include enhanced color-management capabilities as well as new vector-based drawing features. Photoshop 6.0 will include Version 3.0 of ImageReady, Adobe's Web graphics package. The software will be available for a street price of about $600, and upgrades from earlier versions will be $200 each.

Adobe (adbe) also rolled out InScope, a Web-based publishing system for workflow and asset management. The software, which carried the code name Stilton, is designed as a complement to Adobe InDesign, the San Jose, Calif., company's page-layout application. InScope is due to ship in September for Mac and Windows systems. Pricing will depend on configuration, Adobe said.

If any Mac game fans are listening, Apple Computer Inc. (aapl) has released Game Sprockets 1.7.5, the latest version of its software library collection for game and Universal Serial Bus USB) input devices. This collection includes support for "nearly" all the HID-compliant USB hardware including wheel mice, and it offers higher quality 3D sound filtering. Apple also claims improvements for "graphics-intensive game applications." And what game nowadays isn't graphics-intensive?

Revenge of the nerds: Following the revelation of a possible security hole in its free encryption software, Massachusetts Institute of Technology has made available PGP Freeware 6.5.8, which closes off that little error. Due to export restrictions, this download is limited to U.S. citizens in the United States or Canadian citizens in Canada. McAfee has released the commercial version, PGP Desktop Security 6.5.2a, which adds more file sharing and other capabilities, for $71.95.

But they make good hardware: There's now a Mac version of drivers for Microsoft's IntelliType Keyboards. Confusingly, the IntelliType line includes the Microsoft Natural Keyboard Pro and Internet Keyboard Pro, one of which features a split design for enhanced ergonomics. Both also have two USB ports on the back of the keyboard and Hot Keys for common functions.

Olympus America's new Camedia E-10 is a 4-megapixel digital camera that retails for $1,999 and features a 4x zoom lens, a rotatable preview LCD panel, USB connectivity, NTSC support and both SmartMedia and CompactFlash capabilities. It is expected to ship in October. The company also announced the Camedia P-200 printer, a portable, self-contained printer that delivers photo-quality color prints. It'll also ship in October for $599.

The Squamish Media Group has released SoundSaVR 2.0.1, a $199 application for converting sound into single- and multinode QuickTime VR movies. Through QTVR's wired sprite capabilities, these sounds (from sources including MP3, RTSP, MIDI, voice or other) can pan, autoplay and more. Version 2.0.1 includes a full preview mode and various bug fixes.

SmartDisk Personal Storage Systems (which purchased VST) has released its VST 1394/USB PCI Upgrade card, which adds two FireWire and two USB ports to any PCI Power Mac running Mac OS 8.5.1 or higher. The online price is $149.95.

Max Power Software introduced Quick Text 1.0, a free text editor that includes color, font and style features. It also includes support for text-to-speech, Contextual Menus and more.

The Cinco Group has released its $99.55 Theme Creator 2 for, well, creating themes for FileMaker Pro 5 files. Version 2 gains a new interface; theme families; support for color, fill, pen and fonts; XML import and export; HTML preview and more. Owners of the previous version can get a free update.

MacCoder 3.0 is a complete rewrite of Pine Hill Products' source-code editor. Its latest features include a new interface, support for auto indenting and new information. It's $15 shareware.

Evergreen Technologies Inc. has expanded its product line with new FireLine FireWire hard drives. The latest models come in 30GB, 40GB, 60GB and a mind-goggling 75GB capacity. Prices range from $349.99 to $799.99.

Internet Pictures Corp., which would also like to be known as iPix, has released iPix Wizard 2.3, which adds image-resolution mapping, automated key retrieval and improved screen dialogs to the "virtual tour creation tool."